The government has borrowed Sh6.4 billion from South Korea to finance the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) project.
The government moved to the Korean Export and Import Bank to seek the long-term loan which taxpayers will service to January 29, 2061.
The Treasury signed the Sh6,365,150,000 loans at an exchange rate of Sh107.85.
The loan, signed on January 29, 2021, is yet to be disbursed to the Kenyan government.
“The loan will…attract interested rate of Sh0.1 per cent per anum and a service charge of Sh0.1 per cent per annum on undisbursed loan amount,” Treasury said in disclosures to Parliament.
The BRT system is expected to improve Nairobi’s public transport network relative to conventional buses.
The government plans to launch six BRT corridors in Nairobi.
Priority corridors are the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Likoni, James Gichuru-Rironi and Bomas to Ruiru roads. Other motorways are Ngong Road, Juja, Mama Lucy, T-Mall and Balozi to Imara roads.
The corridors are expected to hold up to 950 high-capacity buses reducing travel time and cost by up to 70 per cent.
Kenya is seeking to offer a private firm a 12-year concession to run the BRT system on Thika and Mombasa roads to ease traffic in Nairobi.
Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority acting director-general Francis Gitau said the firm would run 300 BRT buses.
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